Sport

Hughes crashes out at Oulton Park

WHAT started off as a promising weekend for Halesowen racer Bradley Hughes turned into a disaster.

He crashed heavily and although uninjured the same could not be said for the Kawasaki, which suffered major damage in round two of the British Supersport Evo championship at Oulton Park on Sunday.

Bradley was looking good in first free practice and completed the session in a strong fifth place.

However, when he went out on track for the second free practice he encountered a problem on cornering. He was suffering with a searing pain in his right leg which prevented him from turning the bike and was forced to pull in so he could receive some treatment from the physiotherapist who suggested his riding style was perhaps to blame.

He explained: "After riding a 125cc machine all those years and having to tuck myself in, my body has to get used to stretching out a bit on the bigger bike. It is very painful but once I adjust everything should be okay."

Qualifying on Sunday was to set the grid for the start of Monday's race but after just seven laps Bradley crashed heavily at Cascades and although uninjured he was unable to take any further part in the weekend's proceedings.

He said: "Cascades is a fast part of the track and I was doing well over 100mph when I crashed. I went flying, and after doing a Superman impression landed without injury. But the bike wasn't so lucky. After going end over end and also on both sides the damage was tremendous and far too great to repair in time for the race. It will take a while to get her up and running again.

"We have five weeks before the next outing and will be working flat out in order to be on the grid."